Bank harrassing debtor - Intrum Justitia

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Moral Ethos

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Posting this on behalf of a friend who rang me this morning in tears.

He owes BOI about €9k for a loan he defaulted on a few years ago. He fully accepts he is liable etc. BOI took legal action and obtained a judgement for the full amount and then obtained an installment order based on his income at the time. My friend lost his job and as a result could not meet the installments. He then went to the district court to have the installment order varied. The judge reduced the order to nil.

Now it seems the bank is now very sore over this and has now passed the entire debt over to a collection agency who are threatening legal action and that they will send people round to discuss the situation. Naturally he is beside himself with fear.

Now, as the matter is before the courts, is the bank acting unreasonably by involving heavies because the installment order was varied in the debtors favour?

Any useful advice would be appreciated.

Thanks
ME
 
Re: Bank harrassing debtor

Did he have legal representation in court on this matter? If so surely his solicitor should be advising here too? Has he contacted MABS?

I'm no legal expert but while the court may have changed the repayment order to nil does this not still leave the original debt about (or the balance plus accrued interest) outstanding so the bank may well be within their rights to pass it onto a debt collection agency who will take whatever steps they can to collect?
 
Re: Bank harrassing debtor

He prepared his own application then served it on the bank and presented it to the judge.

The whole reason he varied the order was to prevent the situation as described. Naturally getting the order reduced does not wipe the debt but it prevents the bank from putting my friend in prison.
 
Re: Bank harrassing debtor

In this situation prison is not an issue for having the debt. It may be an issue for being in contempt of court (e.g. failing to abide by a court order etc.). I still can't see that the bank are necessarily out of order here. But I'm not a solicitor.
 
Re: Bank harrassing debtor

Moral Ethos said:
Naturally he is beside himself with fear.
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Tell him not to worry. Should he have further contact from the collection agency he should contact the financial regulator. http://www.ifsra.ie/ The conduct of a bank (in relation to debt recovery) is not covered in the consumer protection code but the bank itself (BOI) may have a published code.

His debt is before the Court, the debt is owed a confirmed by the original court court.

Among the various methods of collection open to the bank was the instalment order. The order was made, then varied by debtor, the only other way that the bank can collect is by seeking to vary the order again or seeking prison for default on the instalment (which is impossible as it is a nil instalment).

The agency can come around and break his legs (illegally but I've seen it working in movies), but they can’t take any of his personal goods, they can’t make him work off the debt washing dishes in Baggot Street and the door can certainly be shut in their face.
 
Re: Bank harrassing debtor

ClubMan said:
I'm not legal expert but while the court may have changed the repayment order to nil does this not still leave the original debt about (or the balance plus accrued interest) outstanding so the bank may well be within their rights to pass it onto a debt collection agency who will take whatever steps they can to collect?
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When you say "whatever steps they can"... they cant really get heavy handed can they? Surely they can only call to the door to discuss the matter and then issue court/legal proceedings?
 
Re: Bank harrassing debtor

Given the situation i would advise your friend to contact the police or at least threaten to when he next hears from this collection agency. Their behaviour is harassment. Certainly go through the financial regulator also.
 
Re: Bank harrassing debtor

shootingstar said:
When you say "whatever steps they can"... they cant really get heavy handed can they? Surely they can only call to the door to discuss the matter and then issue court/legal proceedings?
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I wasn't talking about illegal actions. I was referring to the possibility that perhaps they can impound other goods/assets in lieu of the debt repayment? Not sure if this is possible or if, for example, only a court can order this or a sheriff enforce it. Obviously all debt collection agencies are legitimate and operate within the law. Speaking of which I see that recent shooting victim Martin "The Viper" Foley had his own debt collection agency...
 
Re: Bank harrassing debtor

They have already issued the court proceedings some 2 years ago.

Obviously all debt collection agencies are legitimate and operate within the law.
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That is a very naive view.
 
Re: Bank harrassing debtor

ClubMan said:
I wasn't talking about illegal actions. I was referring to the possibility that perhaps they can impound other goods/assets in lieu of the debt repayment? Not sure if this is possible or if, for example, only a court can order this or a sheriff enforce it.
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They would have already done that before seeking the instalment order. They cannot comeback now and look again. They only get one shot.

Obviously all debt collection agencies are legitimate and operate within the law.
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Interesting.
Speaking of which I see that recent shooting victim Martin "The Viper" Foley had his own debt collection agency...
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Enough said.
 
Re: Bank harrassing debtor

unless the bank succeeds in getting the nil instalment order varied is the collection agency acting for the bank in contempt of court in looking for money which the court said was not payable at prresent.
 
Re: Bank harrassing debtor

I'm a bit lost on this one. The court gave a nil installment order as he has such a low income so he has to pay nothing at the moment. But the debt still exists and presumably is increasing with interest. Shouldn't the bank go back to court to change the installment order? And is it illegal for a bank to pass a debt to a debt collection agency when it's in the hands of the court. Debt collections agencies threaten (phone calls/letters/heavies) but cannot really do anything such as seize goods or physically intimidate you (but some dubious one's do). Is that where we are at?
 
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Re: Bank harrassing debtor

What were the terms of the varied installment order? Was it reduced to nil full stop or was it reduced to nil until such time as your friend found a job? Does your friend now have an income that would allow him to start repaying the debt?
 
Re: Bank harrassing debtor

It was reduced to nil until such time the bank makes a fresh application to vary it again. The judge said they would have to wait 12 months to do so. An no my friend is still out of work and attending a medical professional.

Shouldn't the bank go back to court to change the installment order?
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They can in 9 months time.
 
Re: Bank harrassing debtor

Moral Ethos said:
Now it seems the bank is now very sore over this and has now passed the entire debt over to a collection agency who are threatening legal action and that they will send people round to discuss the situation.
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How does your friend know this? Did someone in the bank ring him or did the agency write to him? Could someone in the bank be bluffing him? If he has correspondence from the bank/debt agency, he should copy that and submit it to the court office, first making sure he copies his correspondence to the bank. They will soon lay off.

Note to Clubman - I found the 'Quote button - Thanks!

Slim
 
Re: Bank harrassing debtor

Intrum wrote again to my friend today. They will be sending some hired goons around to "talk" about the matter.

As far as they are concerned there is no judgement and they basically don't care. BOI have dumped the matter in their hands and that's all they know or care about it.

Is there anything that can be done?
 
Re: Bank harrassing debtor

Moral Ethos said:
Intrum wrote again to my friend today. They will be sending some hired goons around to "talk" about the matter.


Is there anything that can be done?
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Let the police know, surely there is a better way of dealing with it, how awfully scary:eek:
 
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